March 8 coronavirus news

Eight US states have declared states of emergency in response to the novel coronavirus outbreak, so far.

Authorities have confirmed at least 21 deaths in three states; 18 in Washington, two in Florida and one in California. Those states were among the first to issue emergency declarations.

Since then, Kentucky, New York, Maryland, Utah and Oregon have declared states of emergency, respectively.

Gov. Kate Brown was the latest to issue the declaration Sunday morning in Oregon after announcing seven new cases in the state, bringing the total there to 14. 

The declaration will allow the state to tap into their emergency resources including the activation of reserves of emergency volunteer healthcare professionals, Brown said.

Washington has reported the most coronavirus cases with 115, as of this morning. The state's Gov. Jay Inslee issued a proclamation directing state agencies and departments to utilize state resources to assist affected communities following the first death in the state and the country reported there on Feb. 29.

Several US cities and counties have declared public health emergencies of their own as well.

Saudi Arabia is suspending public schools, private schools and universities starting on Monday, according to the Saudi Press Agency (SPA), the Kingdom’s official news agency.

The Seattle and King County Health Department has reported 12 new novel coronavirus cases, two of which are fatalities.

This brings the Washington state total to 115 cases, including 18 deaths. There are now 83 cases in King County and 17 deaths reported. 

The two new deaths reported were both patients of Life Care Center.

"A woman in her 80s, a Life Care Center resident, was hospitalized at EvergreenHealth," died on 3/6/20, according to a release from the county health department.

The second is "a man in his 90s, a Life Care Center resident, was hospitalized at Harborview Medical Center," and died 3/5/20," the release said.

Life Care Center is now associated with 16 of the deaths in the state.

Washington state has not yet updated their coronavirus cases for Sunday. 

Princess Cruises has canceled the sailing of the Regal Princess, according to a press release from Princes Cruises.

Two crew members who previously served on Grand Princess and transferred to Regal Princess are being tested for the novel coronavirus, the release said.

Disembarkation of the Regal Princess scheduled for Sunday has been delayed until the two crew members can be properly tested, according to the release.

As a result, the sailing of the Regal Princess scheduled to depart Sunday has been canceled.

The company is offering some reimbursement for hotels and other non-refundable out of pocket expenses, the release said.

The Regal Princess remains off shore by the coast of Fort Lauderdale, according to cruisemapper.com

There are 484 cases of the novel coronavirus in the United States, according to the state and local health agencies, governments and the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 

According to the CDC there are 49 cases from repatriated citizens from Wuhan (3) and the Diamond Princess (46). Twenty-one are from the Grand Princess. According to CNN Health’s tally of US cases that are detected and tested in the United States through US public health systems, there are 414 cases in 33 states and the District of Columbia, bringing the total number of coronavirus cases to 484.

This includes presumptive positive cases that tested positive in a public health lab and are pending confirmation from the CDC, and confirmed cases have received positive results from the CDC.

The United Kingdom Foreign Office is “in touch” with US authorities on the Grand Princess cruise headed to the port of Oakland, California, according to a statement by a spokesperson from the Foreign Office today.

The statement adds that British authorities “stand ready to provide support to any British nationals on board.”

Some context: The Grand Princess has been held off the California coast after 21 people on board tested positive for coronavirus. That ship is scheduled to dock in Oakland on Monday.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel is considering quarantine measures for everyone entering the country, including Israeli citizens and foreigners.

Speaking at a press conference at the Prime Minister’s Office Sunday evening, Netanyahu said, “We are not talking about closing our gates. We are just talking about requiring quarantine for all those who come to the country – returning Israelis and foreign nationals.” 

Netanyahu said meetings of officials from the Prime Minister’s office, the Health Ministry and other experts were continuing, and a decision would be made tomorrow.

Israel has imposed self-quarantine measures on numerous countries already, including China, Italy and Japan, but the director-general of the Health Ministry said measures against individual countries are no longer effective.

There has been a rise in coronavirus deaths in Italy, with 133 new fatalities announced Sunday.

There are now 366 coronavirus deaths nationwide, according to Italy’s Civil Protection. 

Confirmed cases have jumped to 7,375 total in the country; an increase by 1,492 cases since Saturday, according to Italy’s Civil Protection.

Sen. Bernie Sanders has added a “Coronavirus Public Health Roundtable” to his visit in Detroit tomorrow.

Sanders will be joined by public health experts and medical professionals to discuss the outbreak and what can be done to address it. This is in addition to his previously announced event in St. Louis on Monday.